i am riding on a kind of short rope, its probobly like 55. i know the longer the rope, the more speed needed. i just wanted to know what a good length is so if i ever (hopefully) start to do tournaments i will have the right length down

hopefully

or maybe I need to learn to setup faster...anyway...
02-12-2002, 3:14 PM

tricky question, because it depends on your tournament strategy. I ride at 75ft. My style isnt very technical, its more about how big I can do some of the basics and how long can I hold the grab. I ride in the outlaw division and I ride in them just for fun. Im not out to "outride" anyone. Now, because I ride so long and go so big, I can only get 5 tricks in a pass. (or maybe I need to learn to setup faster...anyway...)Max you get credit for is 6 tricks. Many people ride a shorter rope competing than they do freeriding, and go a little smaller to get more tricks in and to be "conservative" on the course. If I cut my rope legnth to 65' I could do more tricks, but sacrifice some of my air. Im not about that, so I dont, and I rely on bonus points for amplitude and style to keep me competitive with the field. I usually finish in the top half of the field, with few top threes and fewer 1st places, but I get mine. I would rather someone in the crowd say, "dude, that the biggest {insert trick here} I have ever freakin' seen!!!" than get a podium spot anyday.

Now if you are competing to win, you should look at your style and determine, first what you want to do out there, and second how competitive you want to be, and find a spot good for you to get your tricks in. If you are really looking for the podium, I would suggest getting all 12 tricks in, because honestly, with judges the way they are, it is hard to win with only 10.

Rope legnth really depends on the wake size,width,and speed you are willing to ride at comfortably.I change legnth from 60-70 ft depending on the boat i am riding behind and the conditions of the water.55 is a bit short but it really doesnt matter as long as that where you are comfortable riding there because there are no limits to how long or short your rope is supposed to be.Just experiment and a big thing at tourneys is to ask around about the boat from people who may know and who go before you on how the wake is and what legnth they thought was good.Right now go up 5 ft at a time while your freeriding and find the best speed and rope legnth for you..

yesterday i rode on a 65, and it was a shocker. the speed i was riding was a lot faster, and my wake (that i thought was big) turned out to be puny at that speed. I liked it though i got some decent air. i threw a tantrum, and it was bigger than usual. the only sucky thing is that i threw a backroll and i wasn't used to the set up and messed up my ear, now i got to go to the doc. hopefully my eardrum is still ok. probobly just an infection. thanks for all the input though. peace out